The present invention relates to an improved railroad grade crossing assembly, and more particularly, to a railroad grade crossing assembly which is extendable to fully close the road or street leading to the track.
Railroad grade crossing assemblies that are currently in use only close the road in the direction of traffic to within one foot of the center line. Therefore, the present railroad gates allow for a vehicle operator to make an S turn across the track thereby creating the potential for disaster. As a result, the railroads are currently under pressure to put in additional gates to completely close vehicle access to the tracks. It has therefore been found desirable to provide a railroad gate which allows a gate crossing to be completely closed prior to the arrival of a train.
A drawback in designing a railroad gate which completely closes the gate crossing is that is must comply with time requirement for closing a railroad crossing which are determined by federal, state and municipal governments. It is therefore further desirable to provide a railroad gate which not only completely closes the gate crossing but also complies with the time requirements for closing a railroad crossing which are determined by federal, state and municipal governments.
Currently, the installation of a single new railroad gate at a railroad crossing can cost upwards of $14,000, or $28,000 to $30,000 per crossing. With the over 56000 railroad crossings just in the United States, in order to attract the railroads to install any new railroad gate, that railroad gate must be relatively inexpensive. As a result, in order to minimize costs, it has been found desirable to provide a gate assembly which completely closes vehicle access to a railroad crossing which is adaptable to an existing railroad stanchion and light assembly. There are also railroad crossings which are in remote areas and have no power supply. As a result, in order to properly protect these crossings, it has been found desirable to provide a gate assembly which completely closes vehicle access to a railroad crossing which is self contained and provides its own power.
Therefore, it is an object of the invention to provide an improved railroad grade crossing assembly.
It is also an object of this invention to provide an improved railroad grade crossing assembly which completely closes the gate crossing prior to arrival of a train.
It is another object of this invention to provide a railroad grade crossing assembly which not only allows a gate crossing to be completely closed but also is adaptable to an existing stanchion and light assembly.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a railroad grade crossing assembly which completely closes the gate crossing and complies with the time requirements for closing a railroad crossing which are mandated by federal, state and municipal governments.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a relatively inexpensive railroad grade crossing assembly capable of completely closing the gate crossing.
It is still another object of the invention to provide a railroad grade crossing assembly which can be readily attached to the arm of an existing railroad grade crossing system.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a self contained railroad grade crossing assembly which provides its own power.
Various other objects, advantages and features of the present invention will become readily apparent from the ensuing detailed description and the novel features will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims.
This invention relates to a railroad grade crossing assembly which restricts vehicles from crossing a railroad crossing prior to the arrival of a train. In contrast to current railroad grade crossing assemblies, the design of the railroad gate completely closes the gate crossing to vehicle access prior to arrival of a train.
The railroad grade crossing assembly of the present invention can be adapted to existing railroad stanchion, arm and/or light assemblies which previously included gate assemblies which only partially closed the railroad crossing. The railroad grade crossing assembly of the present invention includes an improved gate assembly adaptable to the existing stanchion, arm and/or light assembly. This gate assembly is comprised of a two piece telescopic arm (formed of first and second arm members) assembly and a gravity actuated support leg. Upon initial signal or sensing of a train approaching, the arm assembly falls to a generally horizontal position with the gravity operated support leg falling to a generally vertical position impinging upon the ground surface to support the arm Thereafter, but well prior to the train arriving at the crossing, the second arm member of the gate assembly extends outwardly from the first arm member to completely close the railroad crossing.
In another embodiment of the present invention the railroad grade crossing assembly includes a gate means movable between a generally horizontal retracted position to permit vehicle access across a railroad crossing and a generally extended horizontal position for blocking vehicle access across a railroad crossing, the gate means includes a telescopic arm for completely closing the railroad crossing, a first and second stanchions. The telescopic arm is extendable and retractable from the gate means wherein upon a pre-set interval prior to a train arriving at a railroad crossing, the gate means extends from its said generally retracted position to a generally extended position extending from said first stanchion to said second stanchion, to completely close the railroad crossing. The railroad grade crossing assembly also includes a battery to power the gate means and a solar panel to recharge the battery. A low battery indicator may also be includes to indicate that said battery has a low voltage. A listening device is provided to detect the sound of an oncoming train and activate the gate means, and a sensor is provided to sense when a train has passed and thereby cause the gate means to retract.